The present disclosure relates generally to the repair of pipes and more particularly to methods and systems for pipe repair in which holes in the pipe are patched.
Over time or because of a particular event or condition (e.g., seismic activity, exposure to excessive or uneven loads or moments, exposure to micro-organisms, poor compaction, crown corrosion, corrosive soil, etc.), the structural integrity or capacity of force mains, other pipes and other structures may diminish. For example, such items may crack, corrode, deteriorate and the like. Different methods of repairing or otherwise strengthening damaged pipes and other items are well-known. For example, liners or sheets made of fiber reinforced polymers can be attached to one or more portions of a pipe interior. Among other ways, liners of this type can be formed in a tubular shape and dragged in or everted into the pipe to be repaired. Still further, in larger diameter pipes, the lining may be formed by manually adhering sheets of repair material to the walls of the pipe.
Repair of buried or underground pipes in the manner described is hindered by groundwater infiltration. In many instances repair cannot proceed until groundwater infiltration is halted, at least temporarily. The conventional solution for metal pipes was to use welding to block holes or openings in the pipe (e.g., cracks or voids in the pipe side wall) that were allowing groundwater infiltration. However, this process is very time consuming and expensive. Other methods, such as simply stuffing material (e.g. pieces of wood, grout, gels or adhesives without any reinforcement) into pipe openings are unreliable.